The primary goal of this work is an elucidation of the complex multistep reaction process involved in the oxidative conversion of 3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) to the mammalian pigment melanin. The sequence has long been considered to include a series of transient intermediates: dopaquinone, cyclodopa, dopachrome, 5, 6-dihydroxyindole (DHI), and indole-5, 6-quinone, of which only DHI (Along with its-2-carboxylic acid) has been isolated in pure form. In a recent publication from this laboratory, we reported the use of fast sweep electroanalytical techniques (cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry) to observe and kinetically characterize the conversion of dopaquinone. Continued work will focus on analogous studies of DHI, its 2-carboxylic acid, and methylated congeners of DHI, selected to block reactive sites involved in the polymerization process. Electroanalytical characterization of these molecules should further elucidation of the kinetic-mechanistic aspects of the melanization process.